Where to brunch in Oakland: morning rooms worth the queue.
Where to brunch in Oakland. The morning rooms worth the queue, and the kitchens still doing it right at noon.
Town Biscuits runs a Thursday-to-Sunday biscuit breakfast in Oakland's Uptown. Fried chicken and bacon-egg sandwiches on flaky buttermilk biscuits.
Order: Fried chicken biscuit sandwich with pimento cheese.
Tip: Order ahead for pickup; the line snaps to the corner on weekends. Chili-dusted home fries are the under-rated side.
Burdell in Oakland's Temescal opens for Sunday brunch with a Southern gravy-anchored menu. The Michelin Recommended room flips to brunch service on Sundays.
Order: Sunday gravy-inspired brunch plate.
Tip: Sunday brunch service runs 11 to 2 only, then resumes for dinner. Book the 1 pm slot to roll straight into the afternoon.
FOB Kitchen on Oakland's Telegraph runs Filipino brunch on weekends only. Longanisa, tocino and garlic rice with two eggs at the Bib Gourmand Temescal room.
Order: Longanisa and garlic rice with two fried eggs.
Tip: Weekend brunch is when the room flips to its strongest order; arrival before 11 beats the wait.
Mama's Royal Cafe on Broadway at 40th has anchored Oakland's diner brunch since February 1974. Eggs benedict and buckwheat pancakes hold the line.
Order: Eggs benedict and the buckwheat pancakes.
Tip: Opened February 1974 on the corner of Broadway and 40th. Two-time East Bay Express Best Brunch winner.
Souley Vegan at Jack London Square runs weekend brunch on its vegan Creole menu. BBQ tofu, mac and cheese, cornbread, plant-based and very busy.
Order: BBQ tofu plate with cornbread and Cajun mac and cheese.
Tip: Weekend brunch runs 11 to 3; Sunday is the busiest. Cashless payment via QR code.
Almond and Oak on Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt runs weekend brunch with chef Rico Rivera's market-driven plates. Saturdays and Sundays only.
Order: Seasonal benedict and the brunch pasta.
Tip: Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday only; dinner picks back up at 5 p.m.
Wise Sons on Telegraph in Temescal runs daily brunch with bagels, matzo ball soup and pastrami plates. The Mission deli's East Bay Oakland outpost.
Order: Everything bagel with house cream cheese and lox.
Tip: Daily breakfast all day; weekend lines snap by 10 a.m.
Bake Sum on Grand Avenue is the East Bay's most-loved Asian American pastry counter. Brunch-grade pastries from 8 a.m. with coffee to match.
Order: Spam musubi croissant and a black sesame latte.
Tip: Pastries sell out by noon on weekends; arrive early Saturday or Sunday.
Hawking Bird on Telegraph in Temescal runs a Thai weekend brunch on kao mun gai and double-fried fillets. The fast-casual sibling to two-star Commis.
Order: Kao mun gai plus the Hawking Bird sandwich.
Tip: Weekend brunch is the strongest order; James Syhabout's cheap-eats sibling to Commis.
Sweet Bar Bakery on Broadway in Uptown Oakland runs a daily savory and sweet bakery brunch. Bacon-gorgonzola scones, gluten-free options, vegan fauxnuts.
Order: Bacon-gorgonzola scone and a flat white.
Tip: Coffee and panini through lunchtime; the bakery does cupcakes and event cakes through the afternoon.